READINGS

Poetry Unbound

The next Poetry Unbound reading will take place Sunday May 2, beginning at 5:00pm at the Art House Gallery in Berkeley. Poetry Unbound presents passionate wordsmiths on the first Sunday of each month, with a brief open mic. May’s features are Rebecca Foust, David Shaddock, and John Oliver Simon! Hosted by Clive Matson.

POETRY SALOON (drunk on poetry!)

Meets at 472 44th Street, Oakland, the second Friday of the month. Potluck at 6pm, reading at 7:30pm. Bring poems by you and others to share, or come just to enjoy.
Hosted by Kayla Sussell.

CLIVE RECEIVES LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD IN POETRY

BEST WRITING TEACHER IN THE EAST BAY

CLIVE WINS PEN OAKLAND JOSEPHINE MILES NATIONAL LITERARY AWARD 2004

for An Eye for an Eye Makes the Whole World Blind: Poets on 9/11.

CLIVE’S COLUMN

ON WORDS:“CONSCIOUS HIP-HOP” AT 924 GILMAN
As appeared in the Berkeley Times on January 14, 2016:
Just as expected: a concrete floor in a warehouse at 924 Gilman, and on a black wall “Hectic” and “Gloom” in block letters. But overhead? “Welcome to Woodstock” in stark white on a girder, alongside “Sweet Children.”
Two performers on mics paced back and forth, interweaving, waving in rhythm. One guy at a sound console. “Another Chapter” introduced themselves, “Drove out from Las Vegas, ready … to get this shit off my chest.”

Come from streets so foul, leave ya’ all on ya’ back.
I have to sleep in the cab.
I have to be who I am.

We’re pushed around by our own culture, the gangsta style an apt metaphor. “Between you and me, I hate people … I love life but I hate people.”
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CLIVE’S BLOG

Structure of Large Work
The first topics of our new class, “Structure of Large Work,” seem straightforward enough. “Whose Story is It?” “What’s at Stake?” “Plot Works through Character,” “Sequence of Challenges,” and “Subplot.” What these compact phrases leave out are the intricacies.

Each topic is highly articulated, so much so that you could lose sight of why we write. Our texts, Field’s Screenplay and Vogel’s The Writers Journey, lay out schemes that are layered and absorbing. We could, instead of developing our writing, become entranced with getting each page to line up with what the guides propose.Full Entry